NOW:Pensions Premier
Division leaders Beeston managed to open up a five point gap between themselves
and the pack after a 3-2 win over Loughborough Students this afternoon. They
were aided and abetted by Reading and East Grinstead, who could only draw in
their match at Sonning Lane. Reading had
been trailing 0-3 until Simon Mantell scored four times in 15 minutes to put
them ahead. East Grinstead managed to
steal a point from the match when Ashley Jackson’s brother Wesley scored a late
goal in open play to finish the match 4-4. East Grinstead and Reading remain in
second and third place respectively.
At the other end of the table, Sheffield Hallam in ninth
place lost 4-0 to a reviving Canterbury. Canterbury fail to move up from fifth
due to fourth placed Surbiton having a successful afternoon entertaining eighth
placed Cannock. The score in that match,
4-1 to Surbiton.
In fact the only change in the table was as a result of the
match between Wimbledon and Hampstead & Westminster, which ended 4-0 in
Wimbledon’s favour. H&W, who seem to
be having a bit of a lean time at the moment, move down from sixth to seventh,
and their place is taken by Wimbledon.
We were recently speculating that we could see Southgate and
Holcombe winning all their matches in the Conference
East through to the end of the season (except for the one where they next
meet) leaving Holcombe regretting the five points they squandered a few weeks
ago. We were at Luxborough Lane this
afternoon to see the visit of Southgate to Old Louhgtonians, where we were
nearly left eating our words. Loughts
looked by far the better of the two sides on the pitch, and the goal scored by
Southgate’s John Sterlini just before half time was soon wiped out by a freaky
own goal at the start of the second. But table leaders often have lady luck on
their side, and Southgate definitely enjoyed the rub of the ball in a match
that could have gone either way. Mike
Houlihan and Simeon Bird both scored in the last ten minutes to give Southgate
a 1-3 win. Our congratulations to the
umpires, goalkeepers and anyone else who was fighting the bright sunshine,
which was so low in the sky that it was casting increasingly long shadows down
the pitch.
IMAGES FROM THIS MATCH ARE ON OUR WEB SITE AT
WWW.HOCKEYIMAGES.CO.UK.
Holcombe kept up the chase with a 0-9 win at St Albans. After an appeal Teddington have had some of
their deducted points restored. Their draw against Oxted yesterday means that
they are on 15 points, on point behind second placed Holcombe.
University of Durham continue their lead of the Conference North after a 2-3 win away
at Deeside Ramblers. In the West
Conference Tim Davenport’s only goal in the match at home to Cheltenham
keeps them one point ahead of second placed Cardiff & Met. The Welsh side
won their away match at Isca 2-3.
FULL RESULTS AND TABLES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE.
